Egypt vs Saudi Arabia: Share of population living in cities
Egypt
67.0%
in 2020
Saudi Arabia
65.1%
in 2020
Egypt rank
21st
Saudi Arabia rank
24th
Share of population living in cities over time
- Egypt
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Egypt currently reports 67.0% against 65.1% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 1.9%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Egypt has been ahead every year.
Egypt ranks 21st and Saudi Arabia ranks 24th of 236 countries.
Egypt has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Egypt | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 31.6% | 1.4% | 30.3% | Egypt |
| 1960s | 37.3% | 6.0% | 31.4% | Egypt |
| 1970s | 43.0% | 12.6% | 30.4% | Egypt |
| 1980s | 47.1% | 25.4% | 21.7% | Egypt |
| 1990s | 51.6% | 44.8% | 6.8% | Egypt |
| 2000s | 57.5% | 54.7% | 2.9% | Egypt |
| 2010s | 63.4% | 62.0% | 1.4% | Egypt |
| 2020s | 67.0% | 65.1% | 1.8% | Egypt |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, Egypt or Saudi Arabia?
- Egypt, at 67.0% against 65.1% in Saudi Arabia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities between Egypt and Saudi Arabia?
- 1.9%, with Egypt ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Egypt and Saudi Arabia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Egypt and Saudi Arabia rank globally for share of population living in cities?
- Egypt ranks 21st and Saudi Arabia ranks 24th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in cities. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.